Texas book reviews and author interviews from the companion "Will's Texana Monthly" and elsewhere.

The Bookshelf, The Parlor, The Young Texas Reader, and the Monthly

The Texas Bookshelf is different from the The Texas Parlor, http://texasparlor.blogspot.com/ . The Texas Parlor carries "general" bookish information and non-book information and even different Texana news and notes of use to the bibliographically challenged and other nosey folks intersted in historical, literary, and cultural observations. Will's Texana Monthly may carry material from either blog, but extends itself beyond those, especially for longer compilations or treatments. The Monthly, the Bookshelf and the Parlor are all companions. So, is the Young Texas Readerhttp://youngtexasreader.blogspot.com/ which specialized on books and such things for the youngest to the teenagers.

Kids Count report

Published: December 11, 2008

"The Center for Public Policy Priorities on Wednesday released "The State of Texas Children: Texas Kids Count Annual Data Book 2008-09," a resource that provides the latest look at the well-being of children in every county in the state.

This year's data book includes an essay, "Closing the Educational Gaps," revealing factors that can play a pivotal role in a child's academic achievement."

Texas books highlight a firm that built much of Fort Worth, and a man who added some color to it

New books highlight a firm that helped build up Fort Worth and an artist who added color to it

By GAILE ROBINSON

The review begins

"David M. Schwarz is a hard-working Texas architect, especially considering that his firm is based in Washington, D.C.

His list of recently built structures includes many of the newest civic and entertainment venues in North Texas. Consider: In Fort Worth, David M. Schwarz Architects is credited with the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, the Sid Richardson Museum, the Bank One Building, Cook Children's Medical Center North Pavilion, and the Tarrant Country Family Law Center. Nearby, the firm designed the Grand Avenue extension of Southlake Town Center and the adjacent Southlake Townhouses, the Firewheel Town Center in Garland, the Parker Square Buildings in Flower Mound, and Frisco Square and Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco. All of these were completed between 2002 and 2007. The earlier Schwarz works such as American Airlines Center and the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall were covered in the first Schwarz monograph."

A Perfect Reign of Terror, Insurgency in the Texas Hill Country 1861-1862 by William "Paul" Burrier is reveiwed in the December 18, 2008 West Kerr Current by Irene Van Winkle's article, "Myth, fate clash around Tegener's role in Unionist movement."

Van Winkle writes that "Paul said that he is neither revisionist nor anti-Union, but that many accounts by eyewitnesses, historians and family members "have it wrong."

"Their biases are from the Germans' point of view, and some of them had their own agendas," he added."